"The Thing" Review by Chris

Now days, the word “horror” is associated with gushing wounds and ripped limbs, and it seems people would rather be shocked and disgusted by disturbing images than feel the tensions of the unknown. The original "The Thing" from 1982 was a masterpiece on both sides of the coin. The disturbing puppetry and gruesome deaths were paralleled by tense moments of paranoia. Director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. creates a prequel to honor the original, and it could be just what this horror generation needs. But is it?

"The Thing" is an alien that crashed landed on earth 100,000 years ago. While trying to escape it's ship it was frozen until it was found by a group of Norwegian scientists. They recruit Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an American paleontologist, to help get the creature safely out of the ice. When the alien breaks free from its frozen prison and begins to kill and mimic members of the team, Kate leads competently leads a mostly forgettable cast through escalating terror. While some of the characters, such as Lars (Jorgen Langhelle), work to push Kate as a character, most are there to be fodder for the alien.

And when I say fodder, I mean it as literally as possible. The alien’s ability to mimic is reliant on its merging with the original hosts body. This leads to many gruesome deaths and bloody spectacles, but some of the CGI doesn’t exactly convince. Moreover, the creature never matches the realism of the originals puppets, diminishing the effect of the gore. This gets worse when you realize that gruesome visuals are the only scares you'll get. Even the scenes that copy tense moments from the original fail to capture any true terror.

Fans of the original will be pleased with the audio and visual references to the masterwork, but as often as not, they just make the film feel unoriginal. Many of the roars and clicks from the alien are ripped straight from the 1982 classic, and while the ending is the only moment that veers completely away from the original formula, but it borders on the frustratingly ridiculous.

Like the alien, this film’s attempts to mimic the original come close, but don’t quite measure up. It had the potential to be a strong slasher flick, unique from its predecessor, but it strays too often from homage to copycat. Whether it's the focus on gore or the awkward references, this ”Thing” is better left alone.

I give it 2.5 bloody corpses out of 5

Written by Chris
Edited by Aaron